Immersive Exhibit ‘[Re]Constructing Home’ Explores How Our Perception Of Home Has Changed Over The Last Year
The meaning of “home” surely deepened and changed shape for many during a long, arduous year of pandemic quarantine. The home became the office, the school, even the barbershop. Now, a new immersive exhibition exploring themes of the home is on view at the Reeves House, the new visual arts center for the Woodstock and Metro Atlanta communities. The group show “[Re]constructing Home” was curated by Director of Visual Arts Nicole Lampl. She, along with Karen Anderson Singer, participating artist and creator of Tiny Doors ATL, joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes to talk about the exhibition. This show is the inaugural exhibit for the Reeves House and it will be on view through July 4.
On the renovation of Reeves House and themes of reconstructing:
“The project has been in the works for… over a decade now,” said Lampl. “There were several inspirations behind that choice “[Re]constructing Home,” the first being the history and origins of the Reeves House itself. We had initially intended to renovate an existing historical structure; it was an existing single-family home occupied by the Reeves family, that was built in 1897. But unfortunately, mid-construction, we discovered that it was structurally unsound. So we ended up having to reconstruct.”
“Over the course of the past year, all of us have had to reconstruct and reinvent our homes to fulfill a variety of purposes that they were not previously used for – as our kid’s schools, our offices, our gyms, our art studios, basically everything. So it just seemed like a particularly good time to explore this concept in depth.”
Interactive features of interest:
“I think interaction is such an important part of exhibitions because it really invites people to feel a deeper connection to the show. So… the first thing you see when you walk into the exhibition space is this sunny yellow wall. And it’s kind of a recreation of a little family room. So we have the armchair made completely out of paper, with the side table and a lamp, and that’s by artist Sarah Ferrington… she even goes so far as to make the light switch and the electrical outfit out of paper,” said Lampl.
“There are these two very large photographs of the artist Amber Eckersley’s grandmother’s biscuit bowl… Right beneath that is a little end table with a pink rotary phone on it, and when you pick up the phone you get to hear her grandmother explaining her biscuit recipe. So it’s that element of connecting the image with this very specific memory, being able to hear the grandmother herself.”
On Singer’s “Tiny Doors” and her contribution to “Re-constructing Home:”
“Before I put a door in any location, I get to know that location super well. They’re all put in by invitation,” said Singer. “When the pandemic hit… it really changed the nature of the way my work is perceived.” She went on, “People… wanted to do something new that was safe… They just go to the map, and they take it upon themselves to visit the doors.”
“In this show, I did something that I have never done before. The piece is called “All Are Welcome,” and… it’s almost a portrait of Tiny Door #2, which is the rainbow door on the BeltLine,” said Singer. “[The piece] is how I want that door to look but it never looks that way for more than five minutes, because the BeltLine has its way with it. It was nice to get it clean and shiny and have it stay that way. But it really changed meaning for me… When Nicole mentioned ‘home…’ this piece felt like such a great fit, because I feel at home when I’m out working on my pieces.”
The exhibition features the following artists:
Kim Bates (Woodstock, GA)
Karen Beedle (Woodstock, GA)
Ashton Bird (Atlanta, GA)
Eugene Byrd (Atlanta, GA)
Elan Cadiz (Harlem, NY)
In Kyoung Chun (Atlanta, GA)
Nicki Crock (Columbus, OH)
Amber Eckersley (Greenville, SC)
Adam Eddy (Charleson, SC)
Sara Farrington (Lake City, SC)
Honor Bowman Hall (Savannah, GA)
Chase King (Woodstock, GA)
Lori Larusso (Louisville, KY)
Macey Ley (Atlanta, GA)
William Mize (Asheville, NC)
Katie Darby Slater (Melbourne, FL)
Karen Singer Anderson aka Tiny Doors ATL (Atlanta, GA)
Madeleine Soloway (Atlanta, GA)
Logan Woodle (Conway, SC)
Erin K. Wright (Los Angeles, CA)
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